Lamp monitoring and control system and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method for remotely monitoring and/or controlling an apparatus and specifically for remotely monitoring and/or controlling an alarm. The alarm monitoring and control system comprises alarm units for detecting an associated alarm condition; at least one monitoring and control unit, coupled to a group of the alarm units, for receiving alarm information; and a base station, coupled via an IVDS link to the at least one monitoring and control unit, for receiving alarm data from said at least one monitoring and control unit. 
     The present invention allows the combination of alarm and lamp monitoring and control functions in a single monitoring and control unit. Furthermore, it allows image data to be collected at either the alarm unit or the monitoring and control unit when an alarm condition is detected. Additionally in accordance with another embodiment, it allows the alarm condition to be generated by a panic button.

This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 08/942,681filed Oct. 2, 1997.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/942,681filed Oct. 2, 1997, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser.No. 08/838,303, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,266, entitled “LAMP MONITORINGAND CONTROL UNIT AND METHOD” and application Ser. No. 08/838,302 nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,119,076 entitled “LA&P MONITORING AND CONTROL SYSTEM ANDMETHOD”, both of which were filed on Apr. 16, 1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to a system and method for remotelymonitoring and/or controlling an apparatus and specifically to an alarmmonitoring and control system and method.

2. Background of the Related Art

The concept of protection of personal property has existed for quitesome time. In order to provide protection, a variety of alarm systemshave been developed. These alarm systems are used to detect differenttypes of alarm conditions such as a robbery, a fire, or other emergencyconditions. However, the mere detection of an alarm condition isfrequently not sufficient to allow a proper response.

A variety of attempts have been made to deal with the issue of alarmsystems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,979 by Choi discloses asecurity system using telephone lines to transmit video images to aremote supervisory location. Unfortunately, Choi is limited by aselection of telephone lines to relay the alarm information back to asupervisory site. A skilled burglar will generally cut the phone linesto a location before committing a robbery so that no securityinformation, or other forms of communication, can be transmitted duringthe course of the robbery. Furthermore, Choi does not provide for anytype of transmission network in which individual neighborhoods can begrouped together as neighborhoods, rather he provides for a singlesupervisory site with direct communication to each of the securitysystems.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,474 by Park et al. discloses a photographic securitysystem which detects the presence of an intruder and switches on anillumination system and sound system, and activates a still camera totake a picture of the illuminated intruder. The sound system is used tomask the operation of the camera so that the intruder is unaware thepicture has been taken. The problem with Park et al. is that it providesno means for either transmitting the photographic image or transmittingan intruder detection signal to a main site. In other words, althoughPark et al. may allow the detection and photography of an intruder, itdoes not provide any mechanism for communicating this information backto another location.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,146 by Carlson discloses a burglar alarm systemwhich incorporates photographic equipment to photograph an intruder andalso includes a pneumatically operated audible alarm. Carlson suffersfrom the same problems as noted in reference to Park et al., i.e. itprovides no method for sending either image data or a signal indicatingthat an alarm has occurred back to a supervisory site.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,590 by Heger et al. discloses an area surveillancesystem which includes an ultrasonic intrusion detector, an electronicrange finder, and an instant camera. Heger et al. discloses a system inwhich the intruder is detected and the range finder is used to focus thecamera on the intruding subject. After focusing, a series of pictures ofthe area are taken and these pictures are used to provide identificationof the intruder. Heger et al. has the same problems as Carlson and Parket al. in that it does not provide any mechanism for transmitting eitherthe photographic data or an alarm detection signal back to a centralsite.

The above references are incorporated by reference herein whereappropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternativedetails, features and/or technical background.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an alarm monitoring and control systemand method for use with alarm units which solves the problems describedabove.

In order to overcome the limitations of the current alarm systems, it isrequired that an alarm monitoring and control system be developed whichallows for efficient and cost effective real time indication that analarm has been detected and also provides some type of imaging datarelated to that alarm. The system needs to be flexible enough to allowthe imaging data to be collected either directly at the site of thealarm or at a neighborhood site which is associated with several localalarms. Furthermore, in order to produce a cost effective system, it ispreferable to have this alarm system associated with a monitoring andcontrol system which is also performing other functions such as streetlamp monitoring and control for example.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a systemfor monitoring and controlling alarm units or any remote device over alarge geographical area.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a basestation for receiving alarm data from remote devices.

Another object of the current invention is to provide an ID related tothe alarm unit and related to the monitoring and control unit forallowing storage in a database to create statistical profiles.

An advantage of the present invention is that it solves the problem ofefficiently providing centralized monitoring and/or control of the alarmunits in a geographical area.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it provides fora new type of monitoring and control unit which allows centralizedmonitoring and/or control of units distributed over a large geographicalarea.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it allows basestations to be connected to other base stations or to a main station ina network topology to increase the amount of alarm data in the overallsystem.

A feature of the present invention, in accordance with one embodiment,is that it includes an WDS link between the monitoring and control unitand the base station.

Another feature of the present invention, in accordance with anotherembodiment, is that it allows the combination of alarm and lampmonitoring and control functions in a single monitoring and controlunit.

An additional feature of the present invention, in accordance withanother embodiment, is that it allows image data to be collected ateither the alarm unit or the monitoring and control unit when an alarmcondition is detected.

Another feature of the present invention, in accordance with anotherembodiment, is that it allows the alarm condition to be generated by apanic button.

These and other objects, advantages and features can be accomplished inaccordance with the present invention by the provision of an alarmmonitoring and control system comprising a plurality of alarm units fordetecting an associated alarm condition; at least one monitoring andcontrol unit, coupled to a group of the plurality of alarm units, forreceiving alarm information; and a base station, coupled via an IVDSlink to the at least one monitoring and control unit, for receivingalarm data from said at least one monitoring and control unit.

Additional objects, advantages, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realizedand attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a typical mercury-vapor lamp.

FIG. 2 shows a typical configuration of a lamp arrangement comprising alamp sensor unit situated between a power source and a lamp assembly.

FIG. 3 shows a lamp arrangement, according to one embodiment of theinvention, comprising a lamp monitoring and control unit situatedbetween a power source and a lamp assembly.

FIG. 4 shows a lamp monitoring and control unit, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, including a processing and sensing unit, aTX unit, and an RX unit.

FIG. 5 shows a general monitoring and control unit, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, including a processing and sensing unit, aTX unit, and an RX unit.

FIG. 6 shows a monitoring and control system, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, including a base station and a plurality ofmonitoring and control units.

FIG. 7 shows a monitoring and control system, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, including a plurality of base stations,each having a plurality of associated monitoring and control units.

FIG. 8 shows an example frequency channel plan for a monitoring andcontrol system, according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 9A-B show packet formats, according to another embodiment of theinvention, for packet data between the monitoring and control unit andthe base station.

FIG. 10 shows an example of bit location values for a status byte in thepacket format, according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 11A-C show a base station for use in a monitoring and controlsystem, according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 shows a monitoring and control system, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, having a main station coupled through aplurality of communication links to a plurality of base stations.

FIG. 13 shows a base station, according to another embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 14A-E show a method for one implementation of logic for amonitoring and control system, according to another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 15 shows an alarm monitoring and control unit, according to oneembodiment of the invention, having a processing unit, TX unit, and RXunit.

FIG. 16 shows an alarm monitoring and control unit, according to anadditional embodiment of the invention, having a processing unit, TXunit, RX unit, and an imaging unit.

FIG. 17 shows an alarm monitoring and control unit, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, having a processing unit, TX unit, RX unit,imaging unit, interface, and memory.

FIG. 18 shows an alarm unit, according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention, having an alarm detection unit and a TX unit.

FIG. 19 shows an alarm unit, according to another embodiment of theinvention, having an alarm detection unit, a TX unit, a processing unit,and an imaging unit.

FIG. 20 shows an interrogation unit having a processing unit, interface,and storage unit, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 21 shows a monitoring and control system, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, having a main station coupled throughcommunication links to a plurality of base stations.

FIG. 22 shows a method, according to another embodiment of theinvention, for monitoring and controlling an alarm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention includes a monitoring and control unit, such asthe lamp monitoring and control unit disclosed in pending applicationentitled “LAMP MONITORING AND CONTROL UNIT AND METHOD”, filed Apr. 16,1997, Ser. No. 08/838,303 and “LAMP MONITORING AND CONTROL SYSTEM ANDMETHOD”, also filed Apr. 16, 1997, Ser. No. 08/838,302, the contents ofboth of which are incorporated herein by reference. An alarm monitoringand control system and method according to one embodiment of theinvention will be described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 15 on.First, however, a lamp monitoring and control unit will be presented.

The preferred embodiments of a lamp monitoring and control system (LMCS)and method which allows centralized monitoring and/or control of streetlamps, will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.While one embodiment of the invention is described with reference to anLMCS, the invention is not limited to this application and can be usedin any application which requires a monitoring and control system forcentralized monitoring and/or control of devices distributed over alarge geographical area. For example, the monitoring and control systemcan comprise various monitoring and control units, each of whichcommunicates with various alarm units. Additionally, the term streetlamp in this disclosure is used in a general sense to describe any typeof street lamp, area lamp, or outdoor lamp.

Currently, most street lamps still use arc lamps for illumination. Themercury-vapor lamp is the most common form of street lamp in use today.In this type of lamp, the illumination is produced by an arc which takesplace in a mercury vapor.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a typical mercury-vapor lamp. Thisfigure is provided only for demonstration purposes since there are avariety of different types of mercury-vapor lamps.

The mercury-vapor lamp consists of an arc tube 110 which is filled withargon gas and a small amount of pure mercury. Arc tube 110 is mountedinside a large outer bulb 120 which encloses and protects the arc tube.Additionally, the outer bulb may be coated with phosphors to improve thecolor of the light emitted and reduce the ultraviolet radiation emitted.Mounting of arc tube 110 inside outer bulb 120 may be accomplished withan arc tube mount support 130 on the top and a stem 140 on the bottom.

Main electrodes 150 a and 150 b, with opposite polarities, aremechanically sealed at both ends of arc tube 110. The mercury-vapor lamprequires a sizeable voltage to start the arc between main electrodes 150a and 150 b.

The starting of the mercury-vapor lamp is controlled by a startingcircuit (not shown in FIG. 1) which is attached between the power source(not shown in FIG. 1) and the lamp. Unfortunately, there is no standardstarting circuit for mercury-vapor lamps. After the lamp is started, thelamp current will continue to increase unless the starting circuitprovides some means for limiting the current. Typically, the lampcurrent is limited by a resistor, which severely reduces the efficiencyof the circuit, or by a magnetic device, such as a choke or atransformer, called a ballast.

During the starting operation, electrons move through a startingresistor 160 to a starting electrode 170 and across a short gap betweenstarting electrode 170 and main electrode 150 b of opposite polarity.The electrons cause ionization of some of the Argon gas in the arc tube.The ionized gas diffuses until a main arc develops between the twoopposite polarity main electrodes 150 a and 150 b. The heat from themain arc vaporizes the mercury droplets to produce ionized currentcarriers. As the lamp current increases, the ballast acts to limit thecurrent and reduce the supply voltage to maintain stable operation andextinguish the arc between main electrode 150 b and starting electrode170.

Because of the variety of different types of starter circuits, it isvirtually impossible to characterize the current and voltagecharacteristics of the mercury-vapor lamp. In fact, the mercury-vaporlamp may require minutes of warm-up before light is emitted.Additionally, if power is lost, the lamp must cool and the mercurypressure must decrease before the starting arc can start again.

The mercury-vapor lamp has become one of the predominant types of streetlamp with millions of units produced annually. The current installedbase of these street lamps is enormous with more than 500,000 streetlamps in Los Angeles alone. The mercury-vapor lamp is not the mostefficient gaseous discharge lamp, but is preferred for use in streetlamps because of its long life, reliable performance, and relatively lowcost.

Although the mercury-vapor lamp has been used as a common example ofcurrent street lamps, there is increasing use of other types of lampssuch as metal halide and high pressure sodium. All of these types oflamps require a starting circuit which makes it virtually impossible tocharacterize the current and voltage characteristics of the lamp.

FIG. 2 shows a lamp arrangement 201 with a typical lamp sensor unit 210which is situated between a power source 220 and a lamp assembly 230.Lamp assembly 230 includes a lamp 240 (such as the mercury-vapor lamppresented in FIG. 1) and a starting circuit 250.

Most cities currently use automatic lamp control units to control thestreet lamps. These lamp control units provide an automatic, butdecentralized, control mechanism for turning the street lamps on atnight and off during the day.

A typical street lamp assembly 201 includes a lamp sensor unit 210 whichin turn includes a light sensor 260 and a relay 270 as shown in FIG. 2.Lamp sensor unit 210 is electrically coupled between external powersource 220 and starting circuit 250 of lamp assembly 230. There is a hotline 280 a and a neutral line 280 b providing electrical connectionbetween power source 220 and lamp sensor unit 210. Additionally, thereis a switched line 280 c and a neutral line 280 d providing electricalconnection between lamp sensor unit 210 and starting circuit 250 of lampassembly 230.

From a physical standpoint, most lamp sensor units 210 use a standardthree prong plug, for example a twist lock plug, to connect to the backof lamp assembly 230. The three prongs couple to hot line 280 a,switched line 280 c, and neutral lines 280 b and 280 d. In other words,the neutral lines 280 b and 280 d are both connected to the samephysical prong since they are at the same electrical potential. Somesystems also have a ground wire, but no ground wire is shown in FIG. 2since it is not relevant to the operation of lamp sensor unit 210.

Power source 220 may be a standard 115 Volt, 60 Hz source from a powerline. Of course, a variety of alternatives are available for powersource 220. In foreign countries, power source 220 may be a 220 Volt, 50Hz source from a power line. Additionally, power source 220 may be a DCvoltage source or, in certain remote regions, it may be a battery whichis charged by a solar reflector.

The operation of lamp sensor unit 210 is fairly simple. At sunset, whenthe light from the sun decreases below a sunset threshold, light sensor260 detects this condition and causes relay 270 to close. Closure ofrelay 270 results in electrical connection of hot line 280 a andswitched line 280 c with power being applied to starting circuit 250 oflamp assembly 230 to ultimately produce light from lamp 240. At sunrise,when the light from the sun increases above a sunrise threshold, lightsensor 260 detects this condition and causes relay 270 to open. Openingof relay 270 eliminates electrical connection between hot line 280 a andswitched line 280 c and causes the removal of power from startingcircuit 250 which turns lamp 240 off.

Lamp sensor unit 210 provides an automated, distributed controlmechanism to turn lamp assembly 230 on and off. Unfortunately, itprovides no mechanism for centralized monitoring of the street lamp todetermine if the lamp is functioning properly. This problem isparticularly important in regard to the street lamps on major boulevardsand highways in large cities. When a street lamp burns out over ahighway, it is often not replaced for a long period of time because themaintenance crew will only schedule a replacement lamp when someonecalls the city maintenance department and identifies the exact polelocation of the bad lamp. Since most automobile drivers will not stop onthe highway just to report a bad street lamp, a bad lamp may gounreported indefinitely.

Additionally, if a lamp is producing light but has a hidden problem,visual monitoring of the lamp will never be able to detect the problem.Some examples of hidden problems relate to current, when the lamp isdrawing significantly more current than is normal, or voltage, when thepower supply is not supplying the appropriate voltage level to thestreet lamp.

Furthermore, the present system of lamp control in which an individuallight sensor is located at each street lamp, is a distributed controlsystem which does not allow for centralized control. For example, if thecity wanted to turn on all of the street lamps in a certain area at acertain time, this could not be done because of the distributed natureof the present lamp control circuits.

Because of these limitations, a new type of lamp monitoring and controlsystem is needed which allows centralized monitoring and/or control ofthe street lamps in a geographical area.

FIG. 3 shows a lamp arrangement 301 which includes lamp monitoring andcontrol unit 310, according to one embodiment of the invention. Lampmonitoring and control unit 310 is situated between a power source 220and a lamp assembly 230. Lamp assembly 230 includes a lamp 240 and astarting circuit 250.

Power source 220 may be a standard 115 volt, 60 Hz source supplied by apower line. It is well known to those skilled in the art that a varietyof alternatives are available for power source 220. In foreigncountries, power source 220 may be a 220 volt, 50 Hz source from a powerline. Additionally, power source 220 may be a DC voltage source or, incertain remote regions, it may be a battery which is charged by a solarreflector.

Recall that lamp sensor unit 210 included a light sensor 260 and a relay270 which is used to control lamp assembly 230 by automaticallyswitching the hot line 280 a to a switched line 280 c depending on theamount of ambient light received by light sensor 260.

On the other hand, lamp monitoring and control unit 310 provides severalfunctions including a monitoring function which is not provided by lampsensor unit 210. Lamp monitoring and control unit 310 is electricallylocated between the external power supply 220 and starting circuit 250of lamp assembly 230. From an electrical standpoint, there is a hot line280 a and a neutral line 280 b between power supply 220 and lampmonitoring and control unit 310. Additionally, there is a switched line280 c and a neutral line 280 d between lamp monitoring and control unit310 and starting circuit 250 of lamp assembly 230.

From a physical standpoint, lamp monitoring and control unit 310 may usea standard three-prong plug to connect to the back of lamp assembly 230.The three prongs in the standard three-prong plug represent hot line 280a, switched line 280 c, and neutral lines 280 b and 280 d. In otherwords, the neutral lines 280 b and 280 d are both connected to the samephysical prong and share the same electrical potential.

Although use of a three-prong plug is recommended because of thesubstantial number of street lamps using this type of standard plug, itis well known to those skilled in the art that a variety of additionaltypes of electrical connection may be used for the present invention.For example, a standard power terminal block or AMP power connector maybe used.

FIG. 4 includes lamp monitoring and control unit 310, the operation ofwhich will be discussed in more detail below along with particularembodiments of the unit. Lamp monitoring and control unit 310 includes aprocessing and sensing unit 412, a transmit (TX) unit 414, and anoptional receive SEX) unit 416. Processing and sensing unit 412 iselectrically connected to hot line 280 a, switched line 280 c, andneutral lines 280 b and 280 d. Furthermore, processing and sensing unit412 is connected to TX unit 414 and RX unit 416. In a standardapplication, TX unit 414 may be used to transmit monitoring data and RXunit 416 may be used to receive control information. For applications inwhich external control information is not required, RX unit 416 may beomitted from lamp monitoring and control unit 310.

FIG. 5 shows a general monitoring and control unit 510 including aprocessing and sensing unit 520, a TX unit 530, and an optional RX unit540. Monitoring and control unit 510 differs from lamp monitoring andcontrol unit 310 in that monitoring and control unit 510 isgeneral-purpose and not limited to use with street lamps. Monitoring andcontrol unit 510 can be used to monitor and control any remote device550.

Monitoring and control unit 510 includes processing and sensing unit 520which is coupled to remote device 550. Processing and sensing unit 520is further coupled to TX unit 530 for transmitting monitoring data andmay be coupled to an optional RX unit 540 for receiving controlinformation.

FIG. 6 shows a monitoring and control system 600, according to oneembodiment of the invention, including a base station 610 and aplurality of monitoring and control units 510 a-d.

Monitoring and control units 510 a-d each correspond to monitoring andcontrol unit 510 as shown in FIG. 5, and are coupled to a remote device550 (not shown in FIG. 6) which is monitored and controlled. Each ofmonitoring and control units 510 a-d can transmit monitoring datathrough its associated TX unit 530 to base station 610 and receivecontrol information through a RX unit 540 from base station 610.

Communication between monitoring and control units 510 a-d and basestation 610 can be accomplished in a variety of ways, depending on theapplication, such as using: RF or other wireless means, wire, coaxialcable, or fiber optics. For lamp monitoring and control system 600, RFis the preferred communication link due to the costs required to buildthe infrastructure for any of the other options.

FIG. 7 shows a monitoring and control system 700, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, including a plurality of base stations 610a-c, each having a plurality of associated monitoring and control units510 a-h. Each base station 610 a-c is generally associated with aparticular geographic area of coverage. For example, the first basestation 610 a, communicates with monitoring and control units 510 a-c ina limited geographic area. If monitoring and control units 510 a-c areused for lamp monitoring and control, the geographic area may consist ofa section of a city.

Although the example of geographic area is used to group monitoring andcontrol units 510 a-c, it is well known to those skilled in the art thatother groupings may be used. For example, to monitor and control remotedevices 550 made by different manufacturers, monitoring and controlsystem 700 may use groupings in which base station 610 a services onemanufacturer and base station 610 b services a different manufacturer.In this example, bases stations 610 a and 610 b may be servicingoverlapping geographical areas.

FIG. 7 also shows a communication link 716 between base stations 610a-c. This communication link is shown as a bus topology, but canalternately be configured in a ring, star, mesh, or other topology. Anoptional main station 710 can also be connected to the communicationlink to receive and concentrate data from base stations 610 a-c. Themedia used for the communication link between base stations 610 a-c canbe: RF, wire, coaxial cable, fiber optics or any other communicationlink.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a frequency channel plan for communicationsbetween monitoring and control unit 510 and base station 610 inmonitoring and control system 600 or 700, according to one embodiment ofthe invention. In this example table, interactive video and data service(IVDS) radio frequencies in the range of 218-219 MHZ are shown. The IVDSchannels in FIG. 8 are divided into two groups, Group A and Group B,with each group having nineteen channels spaced at 25 KHz steps. Thefirst channel of the group A frequencies is located at 218.025 MHZ andthe first channel of the group B frequencies is located at 218.525 MHZ.

FIGS. 9A-B show packet formats, according to two embodiments of theinvention, for packet data transferred between monitoring and controlunit 510 and base station 610. FIG. 9A shows a general packet format,according to one embodiment of the invention, including a start field910, an ID field 912, a status field 914, a data field 916, and a stopfield 918.

Start field 910 is located at the beginning of the packet and indicatesthe start of the packet.

ID field 912 is located after start field 910 and indicates the ID forthe source of the packet transmission and optionally the ID for thedestination of the transmission. Inclusion of a destination ID dependson the system topology and geographic layout. For example, if an RFtransmission is used for the communications link and if base station 610a is located far enough from the other base stations so that associatedmonitoring and control units 510 a-c are out of range from the otherbase stations, then no destination ID is required. Furthermore, if thecommunication link between base station 610 a and associated monitoringand control units 510 a-c uses wire or cable rather than RF, then thereis also no requirement for a destination ID.

Status field 914 is located after ID field 912 and indicates the statusof monitoring and control unit 510. For example, if monitoring andcontrol unit 510 is used in conjunction with street lamps, status field914 could indicate that the street lamp was turned on or off at aparticular time.

Data field 916 is located after status field 914 and includes any datathat may be associated with the indicated status. For example, ifmonitoring and control unit 510 is used in conjunction with streetlamps, data field 916 may be used to provide an A/D value for the lampvoltage or current after the street lamp has been turned on.

Stop field 918 is located after data field 916 and indicates the end ofthe packet.

FIG. 9B shows a more detailed packet format, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, including a start byte 930, ID bytes 932, astatus byte 934, a data byte 936, and a stop byte 938. Each bytecomprises eight bits of information.

Start byte 930 is located at the beginning of the packet and indicatesthe start of the packet. Start byte 930 will use a unique value thatwill indicate to the destination that a new packet is beginning. Forexample, start byte 930 can be set to a value such as 02 hex.

ID bytes 932 can be four bytes located after start byte 930 whichindicate the ID for the source of the packet transmission and optionallythe ID for the destination of the transmission. ID bytes 932 can use allfour bytes as a source address which allows for 2³² (over 4 billion)unique monitoring and control units 510. Alternately, ID bytes 932 canbe divided up so that some of the bytes are used for a source ID and theremainder are used for a destination ID. For example, if two bytes areused for the source ID and two bytes are used for the destination ID,the system can include 2¹⁶ (over 64,000) unique sources anddestinations.

Status byte 934 is located after ID bytes 932 and indicates the statusof monitoring and control unit 510. The status may be encoded in statusbyte 934 in a variety of ways. For example, if each byte indicates aunique status, then there exists 2⁸ (256) unique status values. However,if each bit of status byte 934 is reserved for a particular statusindication, then there exists only 8 unique status values (one for eachbit in the byte). Furthermore, certain combinations of bits may bereserved to indicate an error condition. For example, a status byte 934setting of FF hex (all ones) can be reserved for an error condition.

Data byte 936 is located after status byte 934 and includes any datathat may be associated with the indicated status. For example, ifmonitoring and control unit 510 is used in conjunction with streetlamps, data byte 936 may be used to provide an A/D value for the lampvoltage or current after the street lamp has been turned on.

Stop byte 938 is located after data byte 936 and indicates the end ofthe packet. Stop byte 938 will use a unique value that will indicate tothe destination that the current packet is ending. For example, stopbyte 938 can be set to a value such as 03 hex.

FIG. 10 shows an example of bit location values for status byte 934 inthe packet format, according to another embodiment of the invention. Forexample, if monitoring and control unit 510 is used in conjunction withstreet lamps, each bit of the status byte can be used to conveymonitoring data.

The bit values are listed in the table with the most significant bit(MSB) at the top of the table and the least significant bit (LSB) at thebottom. The MSB, bit 7, can be used to indicate if an error conditionhas occurred. Bits 6-2 are unused. Bit 1 indicates whether daylight ispresent and will be set to 0 when the street lamp is turned on and setto 1 when the street lamp is turned off. Bit 0 indicates whether ACvoltage has been switched on to the street lamp. Bit 0 is set to 0 ifthe AC voltage is off and set to 1 if the AC voltage is on.

FIGS. 11A-C show a base station 1100 for use in a monitoring and controlsystem using RF, according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11A shows base station 1100 which includes an RX antenna system1110, a receiving system front end 1120, a multi-port splitter 1130, abank of RX modems 1140 a-c, and a computing system 1150.

RX antenna system 1110 receives RF monitoring data and can beimplemented using a single antenna or an array of interconnectedantennas depending on the topology of the system. For example, if adirectional antenna is used, RX antenna system 1110 may include an arrayof four of these directional antennas to provide 360 degrees ofcoverage.

Receiving system front end 1120 is coupled to RX antenna system 1110 forreceiving the RF monitoring data. Receiving system front end 1120 canalso be implemented in a variety of ways. For example, a low noiseamplifier (LNA) and pre-selecting filters can be used in applicationswhich require high receiver sensitivity. Receiving system front end 1120outputs received RF monitoring data.

Multi-port splitter 1130 is coupled to receiving system front end 1120for receiving the received RF monitoring data. Multi-port splitter 1130takes the received RF monitoring data from receiving system front end1120 and splits it to produce split RF monitoring data.

RX modems 1140 a-c are coupled to multi-port splitter 1130 and receivethe split RF monitoring data. RX modems 1140 a-c each demodulate theirrespective split RF monitoring data line to produce a respectivereceived data signal. RX modems 1140 a-c can be operated in a variety ofways depending on the configuration of the system. For example, iftwenty channels are being used, twenty RX modems 1140 can be used witheach RX modem set to a different fixed frequency. On the other hand, ina more sophisticated configuration, frequency channels can bedynamically allocated to RX modems 1140 a-c depending on the trafficrequirements.

Computing system 1150 is coupled to RX modems 1140 a-c for receiving thereceived data signals. Computing system 1150 can include one or manyindividual computers. Additionally, the interface between computingsystem 1150 and RX modems 1140 a-c can be any type of data interface,such as RS-232 or RS-422 for example.

Computing system 1150 includes an ID and status processing unit (ISPU)1152 which processes ID and status data from the packets of monitoringdata in the demodulated signals. ISPU 1152 can be implemented assoftware, hardware, or firmware. Using ISPU 1152, computing system 1150can decode the packets of monitoring data in the demodulated signals, orcan simply pass, without decoding, the packets of monitoring data on toanother device, or can both decode and pass the packets of monitoringdata.

For example, if ISPU 1152 is implemented as software running on acomputer, it can process and decode each packet. Furthermore, ISPU 1152can include a user interface, such as a graphical user interface, toallow an operator to view the monitoring data. Furthermore, ISPU 1152can include or interface to a database in which the monitoring data isstored.

The inclusion of a database is particularly useful for producingstatistical norms on the monitoring data either relating to onemonitoring and control unit over a period of time or relating toperformance of all of the monitoring and control units. For example, ifthe present invention is used for lamp monitoring and control, thecurrent draw of a lamp can be monitored over a period of time and aprofile created. Furthermore, an alarm threshold can be set if a newpiece of monitored data deviates from the norm established in theprofile. This feature is helpful for monitoring and controlling lampsbecause the precise current characteristics of each lamp can varygreatly. By allowing the database to create a unique profile for eachlamp, the problem related to different lamp currents can be overcome sothat an automated system for quickly identifying lamp problems isestablished.

FIG. 11B shows an alternate configuration for base station 1100,according to a further embodiment of the invention, which includes allof the elements discussed in regard to FIG. 11A and further includes aTX modem 1160, transmitting system 1162, and TX antenna 1164. Basestation 1100 as shown in FIG. 11B can be used in applications whichrequire a TX channel for control of remote devices 550.

TX modem 1160 is coupled to computing system 1150 for receiving controlinformation. The control information is modulated by TX modem 1160 toproduce modulated control information.

Transmitting system 1162 is coupled to TX modem 1160 for receiving themodulated control information. Transmitting system 1162 can have avariety of different configurations depending on the application. Forexample, if higher transmit power output is required, transmittingsystem 1162 can include a power amplifier. If necessary, transmittingsystem 1162 can include isolators, bandpass, lowpass, or highpassfilters to prevent out-of-band signals. After receiving the modulatedcontrol information, transmitting system 1162 outputs a TX RF signal.

TX antenna 1164 is coupled to transmitting system 1162 for receiving theTX RF signal and transmitting a transmitted TX RF signal. It is wellknown to those skilled in the art that TX antenna 1164 may be coupledwith RX antenna system 1110 using a duplexer for example.

FIG. 11C shows base station 1100 as part of a monitoring and controlsystem, according to another embodiment of the invention. Base station1100 has already been described with reference to FIG. 11A.

Additionally, computing system 1150 of base station 1100 can be coupledto a communication link 1170 for communicating with a main station 1180or a further base station 1101 a.

Communication link 1170 may be implemented using a variety oftechnologies such as: a standard phone line, DDS line, ISDN line, T1,fiber optic line, or RF link. The topology of communication link 1170can vary depending on the application and can be, for example,: star,bus, ring, or mesh.

FIG. 12 shows a monitoring and control system 1200, according to anotherembodiment of the invention, having a main station 1230 coupled througha plurality of communication links 1220 a-c to a plurality of respectivebase stations 1210 a-c.

Base stations 1210 a-c can have a variety of configurations such asthose shown in FIGS. 11A-B. Communication links 1220 a-c allowrespective base stations 1210 a-c to pass monitoring data to mainstation 1230 and to receive control information from main station 1230.Processing of the monitoring data can either be performed at basestations 1210 a-c or at main station 1230.

FIG. 13 shows a base station 1300 which is coupled to a communicationserver 1340 via a communication link 1330, according to anotherembodiment of the invention. Base station 1300 includes an antenna andpreselector system 1305, a receiver modem group (RMG) 1310, and acomputing system 1320.

Antenna and preselector system 1305 are similar to RX antenna system1110 and receiving system front end 1120 which were previouslydiscussed. Antenna and preselector system 1305 can include either oneantenna or an array of antennas and preselection filtering as requiredby the application. Antenna and preselector system 1305 receives RFmonitoring data and outputs preselected RF monitoring data.

Receiver modem group (RMG) 1310 includes a low noise pre-amp 1312, amulti-port splitter 1314, and several RX modems 1316 a-c. Low noisepre-amp 1312 receives the preselected RF monitoring data from antennaand preselector system 1305 and outputs amplified RF monitoring data.

Multi-port splitter 1314 is coupled to low noise pre-amp 1312 forreceiving the amplified RF monitoring data and outputting split RFmonitoring data lines.

RX modems 1316 a-c are coupled Lo multi-port splitter 1314 for receivingand demodulating one of the split RF monitoring data lines andoutputting received data (RXD) 1324, received clock (RXC) 1326, andcarrier detect (CD) 1328. These signals can use a standard interfacesuch as RS-232 or RS-422 or can use a proprietary interface.

Computing system 1320 includes at least one base site computer 1322 forreceiving RXD, RXC, and CD from RX modems 1316 a-c, and outputting aserial data stream.

Computing system 1320 further includes an ID and status processing unit(ISPU) 1323 which processes ID and status data from the packets ofmonitoring data in RXD. ISPU 1323 can be implemented as software,hardware, or firmware. Using ISPU 1323, computing system 1320 can decodethe packets of monitoring data in the demodulated signals, or can simplypass, without decoding, the packets of monitoring data on to anotherdevice in the serial data stream, or can both decode and pass thepackets of monitoring data.

Communication link 1330 includes a first communication interface 1332, asecond communication interface 1334, a first interface line 1336, asecond interface line 1342, and a link 1338.

First communication interface 1332 receives the serial data stream fromcomputing system 1320 of base station 1300 via first interface line1336. First communication interface 1332 can be co-located withcomputing system 1320 or be remotely located. First communicationinterface 1332 can be implemented in a variety of ways using, forexample, a CSU, DSU, or modem.

Second communication interface 1334 is coupled to first communicationinterface 1332 via link 1338. Link 1338 can be implemented using astandard phone line, DDS line, ISDN line, T1, fiber optic line, or RFlink. Second communication interface 1334 can be implemented similarlyto first communication interface 1332 using, for example, a CSU, DSU, ormodem.

Communication link 1330 outputs communicated serial data from secondcommunication interface 1334 via second communication line 1342.

Communication server 1340 is coupled to communication link 1330 forreceiving communicated serial data via second communication line 1342.Communication server 1340 receives several lines of communicated serialdata from several computing systems 1320 and multiplexes them to outputmultiplexed serial data on to a data network. The data network can be apublic or private data network such as an internet or intranet.

FIGS. 14A-E show methods for implementation of logic for lamp monitoringand control system 600, according to a further embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 14A shows one method for energizing and de-energizing a street lampand transmitting associated monitoring data. The method of FIG. 14Ashows a single transmission for each control event. The method beginswith a start block 1400 and proceeds to step 1410 which involveschecking AC and Daylight Status. The Check AC and Daylight Status step1410 is used to check for conditions where the AC power and/or theDaylight Status have changed. If a change does occur, the methodproceeds to step 1420 which is a decision block based on the change.

If a change occurred, step 1420 proceeds to a Debounce Delay step 1422which involves inserting a Debounce Delay. For example, the DebounceDelay may be 0.5 seconds. After Debounce Delay step 1422, the methodleads back to Check AC and Daylight Status step 1410.

If no change occurred, step 1420 proceeds to step 1430 which is adecision block to determine whether the lamp should be energized. If thelamp should be energized, then the method proceeds to step 1432 whichturns the lamp on. After step 1432 when the lamp is turned on, themethod proceeds to step 1434 which involves Current Stabilization Delayto allow the current in the street lamp to stabilize. The amount ofdelay for current stabilization depends upon the type of lamp used.However, for a typical vapor lamp a ten minute stabilization delay isappropriate. After step 1434, the method leads back to step 1410 whichchecks AC and Daylight Status.

Returning to step 1430, if the lamp is not to be energized, then themethod proceeds to step 1440 which is a decision block to check todeenergize the lamp. If the lamp is to be deenergized, the methodproceeds to step 1442 which involves turning the Lamp Off. After thelamp is turned off, the method proceeds to step 1444 in which the relayis allowed a Settle Delay time. The Settle Delay time is dependent uponthe particular relay used and may be, for example, set to 0.5 seconds.After step 1444, the method returns to step 1410 to check the AC andDaylight Status.

Returning to step 1440, if the lamp is not to be deenergized, the methodproceeds to step 1450 in which an error bit is set, if required. Themethod then proceeds to step 1460 in which an A/D is read.

The method then proceeds from step 1460 to step 1470 which checks to seeif a transmit is required. If no transmit is required, the methodproceeds to step 1472 in which a Scan Delay is executed. The Scan Delaydepends upon the circuitry used and, for example, may be 0.5 seconds.After step 1472, the method returns to step 1410 which checks AC andDaylight Status.

Returning to step 1470, if a transmit is required, then the methodproceeds to step 1480 which performs a transmit operation. After thetransmit operation of step 1480 is completed, the method then returns tostep 1410 which checks AC and Daylight Status.

FIG. 14B is analogous to FIG. 14A with one modification. Thismodification occurs after step 1420. If a change has occurred, ratherthan simply executing step 1422, the Debounce Delay, the method performsa further step 1424 which involves checking whether daylight hasoccurred. If daylight has not occurred, then the method proceeds to step1426 which executes an Initial Delay. This initial delay may be, forexample, 0.5 seconds. After step 1426, the method proceeds to step 1422and follows the same method as shown in FIG. 14A.

Returning to step 1424 which involves checking whether daylight hasoccurred, if daylight has occurred, the method proceeds to step 1428which executes an Initial Delay. The Initial Delay associated with step1428 should be a significantly larger value than the Initial Delayassociated with step 1426. For example, an Initial Delay of 45 secondsmay be used. The Initial Delay of step 1428 is used to prevent a falsetriggering which deenergizes the lamp. In actual practice, this extendeddelay can become very important because if the lamp is inadvertentlydeenergized too soon, it requires a substantial amount of time toreenergize the lamp (for example, ten minutes). After step 1428, themethod proceeds to step 1422 which executes a Debounce Delay and thenreturns to step 1410 as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B.

FIG. 14C shows a method for transmitting monitoring data multiple timesin monitoring and control unit 510, according to a further embodiment ofthe invention. This method is particularly important in applications inwhich monitoring and control unit 510 does not have a RX unit 540 forreceiving acknowledgments of transmissions.

The method begins with a transmit start block 1482 and proceeds to step1484 which involves initializing a count value, i.e. setting the countvalue to zero. The method proceeds from step 1484 to step. 1486 whichinvolves setting a variable x to a value associated with a serial numberof monitoring and control unit 510. For example, variable x may be setto 50 times the lowest nibble of the serial number.

The method proceeds from step 1486 to step 1488 which involves waiting areporting start time delay associated with the value x. The reportingstart time is the amount of delay time before the first transmission.For example, this delay time may be set to x seconds where x is aninteger between 1 and 32,000 or more. This example range for x isparticularly useful in the street lamp application since it distributesthe packet reporting start times over more than eight hours,approximately the time from sunset to sunrise.

The method proceeds from step 1488 to step 1490 in which a variable yrepresenting a channel number is set. For example, y may be set to theinteger value of RTC/12.8, where RTC represents a real time clockcounting from 0-255 as fast as possible. The RTC may be included inprocessing and sensing unit 520.

The method proceeds from step 1490 to step 1492 in which a packet istransmitted on channel y. Step 1492 proceeds to step 1494 in which thecount value is incremented. Step 1494 proceeds to step 1496 which is adecision block to determine if the count value equals an upper limit N.

If the count is not equal to N, the method returns from step 1496 tostep 1488 and waits another delay time associated with variable x. Thisdelay time is the reporting delta time since it represents the timedifference between two consecutive reporting events.

If the count is equal to N, the method proceeds from step 1496 to step1498 which is an end block. The value for N must be determined based onthe specific application. Increasing the value of N decreases theprobability of a unsuccessful transmission since the same data is beingsent multiple times and the probability of all of the packets being lostdecreases as N increases. However, increasing the value of N increasesthe amount of traffic which may become an issue in a monitoring andcontrol system with a plurality of monitoring and control units.

FIG. 14D shows a method for transmitting monitoring data multiple timesin a monitoring and control system according to a another embodiment ofthe invention.

The method begins with a transmit start block 1410′ and proceeds to step1412′ which involves initializing a count value, i.e., setting the countvalue to 1. The method proceeds from step 1412′ to step 1414′ whichinvolves randomizing the reporting start time delay. The reporting starttime delay is the amount of time delay required before the transmissionof the first data packet. A variety of methods can be used for thisrandomization process such as selecting a pseudo-random value or basingthe randomization on the serial number of monitoring and control unit510.

The method proceeds from step 1414′ to step 1416′ which involveschecking to see if the count equals 1. If the count is equal to 1, thenthe method proceeds to step 1420′ which involves setting a reportingdelta time equal to the reporting start time delay. If the count is notequal to 1, the method proceeds to step 1418′ which involves randomizingthe reporting delta time. The reporting delta time is the difference intime between each reporting event. A variety of methods can be used forrandomizing the reporting delta time including selecting a pseudo-randomvalue or selecting a random number based upon the serial number of themonitoring and control unit 510.

After either step 1418′ or step 1420′, the method proceeds to step 1422′which involves randomizing a transmit channel number. The transmitchannel number is a number indicative of the frequency used fortransmitting the monitoring data. There are a variety of methods forrandomizing the transmit channel number such as selecting apseudo-random number or selecting a random number based upon the serialnumber of the monitoring and control unit 510.

The method proceeds from step 1422′ to step 1424′ which involves waitingthe reporting delta time. It is important to note that the reportingdelta time is the time which was selected during the randomizationprocess of step 1418′ or the reporting start time delay selected in step1414′, if the count equals 1. The use of separate randomization steps1414′ and 1418′ is important because it allows the use of differentrandomization functions for the reporting start time delay and thereporting delta time, respectively.

After step 1424′ the method proceeds to step 1426′ which involvestransmitting a packet on the transmit channel selected in step 1422′.

The method proceeds from step 1426′ to step 1428′ which involvesincrementing the counter for the number of packet transmissions.

The method proceeds from step 1428′ to step 1430′ in which the count iscompared with a value N which represents the maximum number oftransmissions for each packet. If the count is less than or equal to N,then the method proceeds from step 1430′ back to step 1418′ whichinvolves randomizing the reporting delta time for the next transmission.If the count is greater than N, then the method proceeds from step 1430′to the end block 1432′ for the transmission method.

In other words, the method will continue transmission of the same packetof data N times, with randomization of the reporting start time delay,randomization of the reporting delta times between each reporting event,and randomization of the transmit channel number for each packet. Thesemultiple randomizations help stagger the packets in the frequency andtime domain to reduce the probability of collisions of packets fromdifferent monitoring and control units.

FIG. 14E shows a further method for transmitting monitoring datamultiple times from a monitoring and control unit 510, according toanother embodiment of the invention.

The method begins with a transmit start block 1440′ and proceeds to step1442′ which involves initializing a count value, i.e., setting the countvalue to 1. The method proceeds from step 1442′ to step 1444′ whichinvolves reading an indicator, such as a group jumper, to determinewhich group of frequencies to use, Group A or B. Examples of Group A andGroup B channel numbers and frequencies can be found in FIG. 8.

Step 1444′ proceeds to step 1446′ which makes a decision based uponwhether Group A or B is being used. If Group A is being used, step 1446′proceeds to step 1448′ which involves setting a base channel to theappropriate frequency for Group A. If Group B is to be used, step 1446′proceeds to step 1450′ which involves setting the base channel frequencyto a frequency for Group B.

After either Step 1448′ or step 1450′, the method proceeds to step 1452′which involves randomizing a reporting start time delay. For example,the randomization can be achieved by multiplying the lowest nibble ofthe serial number of monitoring and control unit 510 by 50 and using theresulting value, x, as the number of milliseconds for the reportingstart time delay.

The method proceeds from step 1452′ to step 1454′ which involves waitingx number of seconds as determined in step 1452′.

The method proceeds from step 1454′ to step 1456′ which involves settinga value z=0, where the value z represents an offset from the basechannel number set in step 1448′ or 1450′. Step 1456′ proceeds to step1458′ which determines whether the count equals 1. If the count equals1, the method proceeds from step 1458′ to step 1472′ which involvestransmitting the packet on a channel determined from the base channelfrequency selected in either step 1448′ or step 1450′ plus the channelfrequency offset selected in step 1456′.

If the count is not equal to 1, then the method proceeds from step 1458′to step 1460′ which involves determining whether the count is equal toN, where N represents the maximum number of packet transmissions. If thecount is equal to N, then the method proceeds from step 1460′ to step1472′ which involves transmitting the packet on a channel determinedfrom the base channel frequency selected in either step 1448′ or step1450′ plus the channel number offset selected in step 1456′.

If the count is not equal to N, indicating that the count is a valuebetween 1 and N, then the method proceeds from step 1460′ to step 1462′which involves reading a real time counter (RTC) which may be located inprocessing and sensing unit 412.

The method proceeds from step 1462′ to step 1464′ which involvescomparing the RTC value against a maximum value, for example, a maximumvalue of 152. If the RTC value is greater than or equal to the maximumvalue, then the method proceeds from step 1464′ to step 1466′ whichinvolves waiting x seconds and returning to step 1462′.

If the value of the RTC is less than the maximum value, then the methodproceeds from step 1464′ to step 1468′ which involves setting a value yequal to a value indicative of the channel number offset. For example, ycan be set to an integer of the real time counter value divided by 8, sothat Y value would range from 0 to 18.

The method proceeds from step 1468′ to step 1470′ which involvescomputing a frequency offset value z from the channel number offsetvalue y. For example, if a 25 KHz channel is being used, then z is equalto y times 25 KHz.

The method then proceeds from step 1470′ to step 1472′ which involvestransmitting the packet on a channel determined from the base channelfrequency selected in either step 1448′ or step 1450′ plus the channelfrequency offset computed in step 1470′.

The method proceeds from step 1472′ to step 1474′ which involvesincrementing the count value. The method proceeds from step 1474′ tostep 1476′ which involves comparing the count value to a value N+1 whichis related to the maximum number of transmissions for each packet. Ifthe count is not equal to N+1, the method proceeds from step 1476′ backto step 1454′ which involves waiting x number of milliseconds. If thecount is equal to N+1, the method proceeds from step 1476′ to the endblock 1478′.

The method shown in FIG. 14E is similar to that shown in FIG. 14D, butdiffers in that it requires the first and the Nth transmission to occurat the base frequency rather than a randomly selected frequency.

FIG. 15 shows an alarm monitoring and control unit 1510, according toone embodiment of the invention, having a processing unit 1520, TX unit1530, and RX unit 1540. Processing unit 1520 is coupled to TX unit 1530for transmitting data to a base station. Processing unit 1520 is alsocoupled to RX unit 1540 for receiving data either from the base stationor from a remote unit such as an alarm unit. As an option, alarmmonitoring and control unit 1510 can also include a second RX unit 1550for receiving data either from the base station or from a remote devicesuch as an alarm unit.

As another option, alarm monitoring and control unit 1510 can include asensing unit 1560 and a remote device 1570 both coupled to processingunit 1520. For example, sensing unit 1560 and remote device 1570 can befor lamp monitoring and control so that alarm monitoring and controlunit 1510 can perform the functions of lamp and alarm monitoring andcontrol.

FIG. 16 shows an alarm monitoring and control unit 1610, according to anadditional embodiment of the invention, having a processing unit 1620,TX unit 1630, RX unit 1640, and an imaging unit 1680. Alarm monitoringand control unit 1610 is similar to alarm monitoring control unit 1510in that it includes processing unit 1620, TX unit 1630, RX unit 1640 andoptional RX unit 1650, sensing unit 1660, and remote device 1670. Theseelements have functions analogous to the corresponding elements in FIG.15.

Additionally, alarm monitoring and control unit 1610 includes imagingunit 1680 coupled to processing unit 1620. Imaging unit 1680 allowsimaging to be performed based upon signals received from remote alarmunits (not shown). For example, if an alarm signal is received from aremote alarm unit, imaging unit 1680 can perform imaging of the localarea in order to collect information which may be valuable to the policeand other law enforcement agencies.

Imaging unit 1680 may be any form of imaging unit such as a stillcamera, a video camera, a low light level camera, or an infrared camera.Imaging unit 1680 also can include a wide variety of lens types such asa wide field of view lenses to enable a very broad field of view duringsurveillance. Imaging unit 1680 also can include a pointing device whichallows imaging unit 1680 to point at different objects depending on thesource of the alarm. Although imaging unit 1680 is shown inside of alarmmonitoring and control unit 1610, imaging unit 1680 may be included inthe same housing as processing unit 1620 or may be included in aseparate housing with some form of communication link between imagingunit 1680 and processing unit 1620.

Alarm monitoring and control unit 1610 can also include optionaladditional imaging units 1685. Imaging unit 1685 allows the alarmmonitoring and control unit to point at a direction different than thefield of view of imaging unit 1680. As previously described, imagingunit 1685 can also be implemented using a variety of different forms ofimaging units such as a still camera, video camera, low light level TV,low light level video camera, and infrared video camera. Also, aspreviously discussed, alarm monitoring and control unit 1610 can includean optional sensing unit 1660 and remote device 1670 to allow theoperation of both lamp monitoring and alarm monitoring in one monitoringand control unit.

FIG. 17 shows an alarm monitoring and control unit 1710, according toanother embodiment of the invention, having a processing unit 1720, TXunit 1730, RX unit 1740, imaging unit 1780, interface 1790, and memory1795.

Alarm monitoring and control unit 1710 is similar to alarm monitoringand control unit 1610 in terms of the inclusion of a processing unit1720, TX unit 1730, RX unit 1740, imaging unit 1780, and optionalelements such as RX unit 1750, sensing unit 1760, remote device 1770,and imaging unit 1785. In addition, alarm monitoring and control unit1710 includes an interface 1790 and a memory 1795, both of which arecoupled to processing unit 1720. Memory 1795 allows storage ofinformation at alarm monitoring and control unit 1710. For example, ifimaging unit 1780 collects image data, that image data can be stored inmemory 1795 for download at a later time. Interface 1790 is themechanism through which the download of information, such as image data,from memory 1795 is conducted. Interface 1790 can be implemented in avariety of ways such as through use of a wired line, infrared link,fiber optic link, or RF link. In addition, it is well known to thoseskilled in the art that there are many ways for implementing memory 1795such as use of DRAM, SRAM, flash RAM, etc.

FIG. 18 shows an alarm unit 1810, according to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, having an alarm detection unit 1820 and a TX unit 1830.Alarm detection unit 1820 detects an alarm condition and TX unit 1830,which is coupled to alarm detection unit 1820, transmits associatedalarm information to an alarm monitoring and control unit such as alarmmonitoring control unit 1510, 1610 or 1710. Alarm unit 1810 can take avariety of different forms depending on the particular application. Forexample, in a residential house or a commercial building, alarm unit1810 can be part of an alarm system so that alarm detection unit 1820 iscoupled to alarm sensors which detect an alarm condition. Some examplesof alarm conditions are the opening of a door or window or the detectionof motion in a particular room of a building.

In other applications, alarm detection unit 1820 can be coupled to analarm panic button. For example, an alarm panic button could beinstalled in vehicles such as taxicabs so that in the event of a robberythe taxicab driver could push the alarm panic button producing an alarmdetection signal in alarm detection unit 1820 which results in thetransmission of associated alarm information being transmitted by TXunit 1830. The concept of alarm panic buttons can also be used in fixedlocations such as in commercial operation such as banks or ATM machines,or the panic button can be placed in public areas such as on lamp postsalong the side of a highway.

The alarm condition which triggers alarm detection unit 1820 is notlimited to robberies, but also can include other forms of alarmconditions such as detection of fire or flooding in a building.

FIG. 19 shows an alarm unit, according to another embodiment of theinvention, having an alarm detection unit, a TX unit, a processing unit,and an imaging unit.

Alarm unit 1910 includes a processing unit 1940 which is coupled to analarm detection unit 1920, a TX unit 1930, and an imaging unit 1950.Alarm unit 1910 can be used for all of the applications described withrespect to alarm unit 1810. In addition, alarm unit 1910 includesprocessing unit 1940 and imaging unit 1950 allowing additionalapplications in which image data is required at the location of alarmunit 1910. As an example of one such application, if a residence isbroken into, the alarm system would send an alarm signal to alarmdetection unit 1920. In response to this alarm signal, alarm detectionunit 1920 would send a signal to processing unit 1940 which would inturn begin operation of imaging unit 1950. Imaging unit 1950 could thensurveil the area in a variety of ways similar to imaging units 1680 and1780. That is, imaging unit 1950 can collect photographic still data,video data, low light level video data, or infrared data. Furthermore insome applications, the image data could include audio data collected bythe same imaging unit.

Alarm unit 1910 can also include an optional memory 1960 and interface1970 to allow local storage of the image data from imaging unit 1950. Inan application in which local storage is selected, TX unit 1930 willtransmit out an alarm indication signal to an alarm monitoring controlunit to indicate an alarm condition has been detected at alarm unit1910. In other applications, image data from imaging unit 1950 can bedirectly transmitted using TX unit 1930.

FIG. 20 shows an interrogation unit 2010 having a processing unit 2030,interface 2020, and storage unit 2040, according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

Interface 2020 and storage unit 2040 are both coupled to processing unit2030. Interrogation unit 2010 allows for downloading of data from memoryunits in either the alarm monitoring and control unit 1710 or alarm unit1910. For example, referring back to alarm unit 1910 shown in FIG. 19,if image data is stored in memory 1960 then interrogation unit 2010 candownload that data by establishing communication between interface 1970and interface 2020. The information is then sent through processing unit2030 to storage unit 2040 for later retrieval. A similar interrogationunit 2010 can be used with alarm monitoring and control unit 1710 asshown in FIG. 17.

For example, if image data is stored in memory 1795 at alarm monitoringand control unit 1710, then interrogation unit 2010 can download thisimage data via a communication link established between interface 1790and interface 2020. The communication link between interface 1790 andinterface 2020 can take a variety of forms well known to those skilledin the art such as wire, infrared, fiber optic, or RF. Likewise, storageunit 2040 can be implemented in a variety of ways such as using DRAM,SRAM, flash RAM, floppy disks, hard disks, video tape, streaming tape,etc.

FIG. 21 shows an alarm monitoring and control system 2100, according toone embodiment of the invention, having a main station 710 coupledthrough communication links to a plurality of base stations 610 a-b.

Alarm monitoring and control system 2100 includes main station 710 andbase stations 610 a and 610 b which are analogous in function to thesimilarly labeled elements in FIGS. 6 and 7 which were described withrespect to FIG. 12. Each base station 610 a and 610 b is coupled to avariety of monitoring and control units (MCU) 2110 a-d. MCUs 2110 a-dare further coupled to a variety of alarm units. For example, aresidential building 2120 may include an alarm unit 2120 a. Aspreviously discussed, alarm unit 2120 a detects an alarm signal andtransmits associated alarm information to MCU 2110 a.

In other embodiments, the alarm unit can be in a commercial building2120′ or an industrial building 2120″. Commercial building 2120′includes an alarm unit 2120′ a which is similar in function to alarmunit 2120 a. Likewise, industrial site 2120 includes an alarm unit 2120″a which is similar in function to alarm unit 2120 a.

As another example, an automobile 2130 can be equipped with an alarmunit 2130 a. As previously discussed, alarm unit 2130 a can include apanic button. For example, alarm unit 2130 a would allow a taxi driverto press the panic button in the event of a robbery. Pressing the panicbutton on alarm unit 2130 a would result in a signal being sent to MCU2110 a which would further send a signal to base station 610 a whichwould further send a signal to main station 710. Likewise, panic buttonscan be installed at other locations such as a panic button 2150 ainstalled in a building 2150 or a panic button 2140 a installed at alamp post 2140 or in a public place.

If a real time response is required, the alarm information transmittedfrom an alarm unit such as alarm unit 2130 a is relayed through MCU 2110a to base station 610 a and further to main station 710. The alarminformation at main station 710 can include at least the unique ID foralarm unit 2130 a and the ID of MCU 2110 a which relayed the alarminformation. The alarm information can include a time stamp indicatingthe time that alarm unit 2130 a transmitted the alarm information.Alternatively, the time stamp can be the time that alarm information isreceived at MCU 2110 a, at base station 610 a or at main station 710 isstored in a database. This alarm information can be relayed directly tothe police to alert law enforcement agencies that a robbery is inprogress in a particular taxicab in a particular neighborhood.Additionally, the alarm information can be stored in a database at mainstation 710 or another location and can be used by either lawenforcement agencies or insurance agencies to analyze crime data in aneighborhood. For example, if a law enforcement agency recognizes thatthe crime rate during a specific time of day is high in a particularneighborhood based upon the alarm information relayed from alarm units,the law enforcement agency can increase patrols in that area as a resultto reduce the criminal activity.

FIG. 22 shows a method, according to another embodiment of theinvention, for monitoring and controlling an alarm.

Method 2200 for monitoring and controlling an alarm includes a detectingstep 2210 which involves detecting that an alarm condition has occurred.Method 2200 proceeds from detecting step 2210 to a transmitting step2220 which involved transmitting alarm information associated with thealarm condition detected in detecting step 2210.

Method 2200 proceeds from transmitting step 2220 to a furthertransmitting step 2230 which involves transmitting alarm data from anMCU to a base station.

Method 2200 proceeds from transmitting step 2230 to an analyzing step2240 which involves analyzing the alarm data. As previously discussed,the step of analyzing the alarm data can take several forms such asstorage for later processing or the forwarding of the alarm data toproper law enforcement activities for real-time response. The alarm datacan also take a variety of forms and can include the ID numbers for theassociated alarm unit and monitoring and control unit, a time stamp, andan indication of the type of alarm such as a fire alarm or a burglaralarm. Additionally, the alarm data may include image data relayed froman imaging device, such as an imaging device located in the alarm unitor in the alarm monitoring and control unit. Analyzing step 2240 alsocan include statistical analysis in a database. It is well known tothose skilled in the art that such a database can be created with avariety of commercially available programs such as Oracle, Sybase, SQLserver, Access, etc.

The foregoing embodiments are merely exemplary and are not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can bereadily applied to other types of apparatuses. The description of thepresent invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit thescope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variationswill be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. An alarm monitoring and control systemcomprising: a plurality of alarm units for detecting an associated alarmcondition; at least one monitoring and control unit, coupled to a groupof said plurality of alarm units, for receiving alarm information; and abase station, coupled via an WDS link to said at least one monitoringand control unit, for receiving alarm data from said at least onemonitoring and control unit.
 2. The alarm monitoring and control systemof claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of alarm units comprises: analarm detection unit for detecting the associated alarm condition; and atransmit unit, coupled to said alarm detection unit, for transmittingalarm information related to the associated alarm condition.
 3. Thealarm monitoring and control system of claim 1, wherein each of saidplurality of alarm units comprises: an alarm detection unit fordetecting the associated alarm condition; a processing unit, coupled tosaid alarm detection unit, for receiving the associated alarm condition;an imaging unit, coupled to said processing unit, for producing imagedata; and a transmit unit, coupled to said processing unit, fortransmitting alarm information related to the associated alarmcondition.
 4. The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 3,wherein each of said plurality of alarm units further comprises: amemory, coupled to said processing unit, for storing at least one of theassociated alarm condition and the image data; and an interface, coupledto said processing unit, for retrieving at least one of the associatedalarm condition and the image data.
 5. The alarm monitoring and controlsystem of claim 1, wherein each of said at least one monitoring andcontrol unit comprises: a receive unit for receiving the alarminformation from said plurality of alarm units; a processing unit,coupled to said receive unit, for processing the alarm information; anda transmit unit, coupled to said processing unit, for transmitting thealarm data to said base station.
 6. The alarm monitoring and controlsystem of claim 5, wherein each of said at least one monitoring andcontrol unit further comprises: a further receive unit, coupled to saidprocessing unit, for receiving control information from said basestation.
 7. The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 5, whereineach of said at least one monitoring and control unit further comprises:a sensing unit, coupled to said processing unit, for sensing local data;and a remote device, coupled to said processing unit, for control bysaid processing unit.
 8. The alarm monitoring and control system ofclaim 7, wherein said remote device is a street lamp.
 9. The alarmmonitoring and control system of claim 5, wherein each of said at leastone monitoring and control unit further comprises: an imaging unit,coupled to said processing unit, for producing image data.
 10. The alarmmonitoring and control system of claim 9, wherein said imaging unitincludes a wide field of view lens.
 11. The alarm monitoring and controlsystem of claim 9, wherein said imaging unit includes a pointing device.12. The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 9, wherein saidimaging unit is a video camera.
 13. The alarm monitoring and controlsystem of claim 9, wherein said video camera produces image dataincluding audio data.
 14. The alarm monitoring and control system ofclaim 5, wherein each of said at least one monitoring and control unitfurther comprises: a plurality of imaging, units, coupled to saidprocessing unit, for producing image data.
 15. The alarm monitoring andcontrol system of claim 9, wherein each of said at least one monitoringand control unit further comprises: a sensing unit, coupled to saidprocessing unit, for sensing local data; and a remote device, coupled tosaid processing unit, for control by said processing unit.
 16. The alarmmonitoring and control system of claim 15, wherein said remote device isa street lamp.
 17. The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 1,further comprising: an interrogation unit, coupled to said at least onemonitoring and control unit, for receiving the alarm data.
 18. The alarmmonitoring and control system of claim 17, wherein said interrogationunit comprises: an interface for receiving the alarm data; a processingunit, coupled to said interface, for controlling said interface; and astorage unit, coupled to said processing unit, for storing said alarmdata.
 19. The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of said plurality of alarm units includes a panic button. 20.The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 19, wherein said panicbutton is an automobile panic button.
 21. The alarm monitoring andcontrol system of claim 19, wherein said panic button is a public panicbutton.
 22. The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 19, whereinsaid panic button is a street lamp panic button.
 23. The alarmmonitoring and control system of claim 19, wherein said panic button isa building panic button.
 24. The alarm monitoring and control system ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of alarm units iscoupled to a building alarm system.
 25. The alarm monitoring and controlsystem of claim 1, further comprising a main station, coupled to saidbase station, for receiving the alarm data from said base station. 26.The alarm monitoring and control system of claim 25, wherein said mainstation includes a database for analyzing the alarm data.